Early Weimar Republic

Question 1

When was Spartacist demonstration?

Answer 1

16 killed, 6th December 1918

Question 2

When was the Sailor’s revolt?

Answer 2

23-24 of December 1918

Question 3

When was the spartacist armed revolt?

Answer 3

6th January 1919

Question 4

What were the democratic weaknesses of the Weimar constitution?

Answer 4

• Proportional representation
• Proliferation of smaller parties in Reichstag
• Chancellor had to have 50% support (coalition)
• Article 48

Question 5

What were the democratic strengths of the Weimar constitution?

Answer 5

• President had to be countersigned by federal chancellor or minister
• voting is universal
• supreme power emanates from the people
• referendums were possible

Question 6

What were the the undemocratic institutions?

Answer 6

Army, judiciary, civil service

Question 7

When was the Weimar constitution agreed?

Answer 7

11th August 1919

Question 8

When was the treaty of Versailles?

Answer 8

January 1919

Question 9

How did pro-republican parties react to TofV?

Answer 9

• SPD asked rivals DNVP,DVP and DDP to support politicians who signed the treaty saying that they weren’t be unpatriotic.
• Turned former supporters against the constitution

Question 10

What was the reaction of the right to TofV?

Answer 10

• Resentment increased
• Could not accept that they had lost the war
• labelled politicians involved with signing as ‘November Criminals’ and betrayal seen as ‘stab in the back’

Question 11

What was the war debt Germany had?

Answer 11

1.44 billion marks

Question 12

Why was the economy not secure after WW1?

Answer 12

• Inflation went unchecked,
• 1920 Coaltion led by Konstantin Fehrenbach allowed powerful German industrialists to take short term loans but when they needed to be repaid the real value had been reduced by inflation

Question 13

What happened in January 1923?

Answer 13

Franco-Belgian invasion of the Ruhr, in May 1923 output had fallen to 1/5 of its preoccupation output

Question 14

What was the reaction to the invasion of the Ruhr?

Answer 14

Chancellor Cuno implemented policy of passive resistance

Question 15

What was passive resistance? What was its effects?

Answer 15

• Paid the workers wages to go on strike during Franco-Belgian invasion of Ruhr
• 132 German’s shot and 150,000 expelled from the area
• Output in the Ruhr was a 1/5 of its pre-occupation output by May 23’
• Para-military group sabotaged the factories

Question 16

How many Coalition governments were the between feb 1919 - Nov 1923?

Answer 16

10

Question 17

What was some of the economic impact of the Treaty of Versailles?

Answer 17

• lost : 13% of territory, 75% of Iron core, 68% Zinc core, 26% coal and 15% of Arable land
• Germany had High Tariffs

Question 18

What was responsible for the Kapp putsch? and why?

Answer 18

Treaty of Versailles, as the German army had to reduce its size
Feb 1920 Gustav Noske ordered two Freikorps to disband

Question 19

Who was mainly involved in kapp putsch?

Answer 19

Walther von Lüttwitz - refused to disband freikorp unit and marched to Berlin
Wolfgang Kapp - Civil servant, intent on organising putsch

Question 20

What did the Kapp Putsch show?

Answer 20

The Government was weak without the army
Seeckt told Ebert “troops do not fire on troops”

Question 21

What happened in October 1919?

Answer 21

Hugo Hasse, USPD member assassinated infront of Reichstag

Question 22

What happened in August 1921

Answer 22

Matthias Erzberger , former finance minister, asassinated

Question 23

What happened 24 June 1922?

Answer 23

• Walther Rathenau , foreign minister, assassinated
• 700,000 person protest next day
• Value of the Mark fell

Question 24

How many political assassinations were there between 1919-1923?

Answer 24

376 (22 by left - 354 by right)

Question 25

How did Hitler gain support for Beer Hall putsch?

Answer 25

Capitalised on anger over ending of passive resistance, pushed agenda of government betraying the people again

Question 26

What were the reparations

Answer 26

£6.6 billion

Question 27

What was the freedom law?

Answer 27

• 1529 by Hugenberg
• Wanted war guilt clause removed and anyone who signed TofV tried for treason
• Got 5,825,000 votes 13.8% of electorate

Question 28

When did Prince Max say the Kaiser abdicated?

Answer 28

9 November 1918 - Ebert made chancellor

Question 29

What article guaranteed independence of judges?

Answer 29

Article 102

Question 30

When did Stresemann become chancellor?

Answer 30

1923

Question 31

How was the judiciary bias towards the right?

Answer 31

• 326 right-wing murderers unpunished, only one convicted
• But 10 left wing murderers convicted

Question 32

When was the Ebert-Groener Pact?

Answer 32

November 1918

Question 33

Who led the spartacist league?

Answer 33

Karl Liebknecht and Rosa Luxemburg

Question 34

What left wing uprising happened in 1920?

Answer 34

• Communists formed a ‘red army’ of 50,000
• Seized control of Ruhr
• Troubles in Halle and Dresden
• Over 1000 workers and 250 Police/army killed

Question 35

Left wing Uprising in March 1921

Answer 35

• KPD tried to force a revolution, starting in Saxony
• Strikes spread to Hamburg and Ruhr
• Crushed 145 people killed

Question 36

How many times did Ebert use article 48?

Answer 36

136 times